Martiny’s

A Union Square Bar That Keeps Climbing the Rankings

New York's cocktail bar scene is not short of accolades, but sustained upward movement through the World's 50 Best Bars rankings over consecutive years is rare enough to warrant attention. Martiny's, at 121 East 17th Street in the Union Square corridor, has done exactly that: ranked #68 globally in 2023, it moved to #24 in 2024, then settled at #75 globally in 2025 while simultaneously reaching #15 in the North America-specific ranking — a regional position that places it inside the continent's top tier. That kind of trajectory is more telling than a single-year placement. It suggests a program with consistent operational depth rather than a one-season moment.

For context, North America's bar scene in 2025 is fiercely competitive. Bars like Kumiko in Chicago, Bar Leather Apron in Honolulu, Jewel of the South in New Orleans, Julep in Houston, and ABV in San Francisco anchor that list from their respective cities. A #15 North American ranking from a Manhattan address, where competition density is arguably highest, carries weight. The additional Pearl Recommended Bar designation in 2025 adds a second independent validation from a separate credentialing body. The Top 500 Bars ranking — placing it at #73 globally , represents a third. Three separate award systems converging on the same address within a single calendar year is not coincidence; it reflects a bar that multiple professional evaluator cohorts are independently returning to assess.

The Wine Angle in a Cocktail Bar Context

The editorial angle worth pressing here is the wine program. In Manhattan, bars that build genuine credibility as wine destinations alongside a cocktail identity occupy a specific and not particularly crowded niche. The broader New York cocktail scene has, for the better part of two decades, organized itself around technique-forward programs: clarified drinks, house ferments, aged spirits, and rotating seasonal menus. What gets less attention is how a bar handles its still wine selection , and whether that selection is curated with the same rigor applied to the back bar.

Martiny's operates in the Union Square and Gramercy Park adjacency, a part of Manhattan where the dining-and-drinking ecosystem skews toward a more wine-literate crowd than, say, the Lower East Side or the West Village bar corridors. The neighborhood has historically attracted guests who move between serious restaurant tables and serious bar seats in the same evening. That context creates demand for a cellar program that can hold its own against nearby restaurant wine lists, not merely offer a functional afterthought of by-the-glass options.

The bar's position on East 17th Street places it within walking distance of Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Cafe, two addresses with well-regarded wine programs. In that company, a bar that treats its wine curation as a primary concern rather than a supplement is making a legible statement about what category it wants to occupy. That positioning , bar-with-serious-wine rather than bar-that-also-has-wine , is precisely the niche that a venue aiming for sustained 50 Best relevance would need to occupy to differentiate from New York's purely cocktail-forward programs.

Where Martiny's Sits in the New York Bar Conversation

Manhattan's bar ecosystem, at the upper end, has fragmented into several distinct clusters. There are the technically-obsessed cocktail programs, represented locally by venues like Attaboy NYC and Amor y Amargo, the latter of which built its reputation on bitters-driven drink making and a deliberate narrowing of format. There are the atmosphere-first rooms like Angel's Share, which trades on discretion and a Japanese-influenced cocktail vocabulary. And there are newer operations like Superbueno, which approach the cocktail bar through a cuisine-linked lens.

Martiny's sits in a different register from all of these. Its address, its award profile, and its Google review base , 4.2 across 374 responses, a score that in New York's hyper-critical review culture reflects genuine satisfaction rather than tourist goodwill , suggest a bar that functions as a destination for the kind of guest who treats drinking seriously but is not chasing novelty for its own sake. That is a harder position to build and hold than a high-concept program with obvious Instagram traction. The sustained 50 Best presence across 2023, 2024, and 2025 indicates the bar has held that position without needing to reinvent its identity each season.

Internationally, the comparison set is also instructive. Allegory in Washington, D.C. and The Parlour in Frankfurt on the Main represent the kind of bar programs that pursue similar credentialing paths , multiple award bodies, sustained critical attention, and a format that rewards repeat visits rather than one-time spectacle. Martiny's belongs to that international cohort, which is precisely why its 2025 global ranking of #75, read alongside its #15 North American position, reflects where in the world the bar's reputation carries most weight.

What the Rankings Imply About the Experience

World's 50 Best Bars evaluations are conducted by a voting academy of drinks professionals, working journalists, and bar industry figures who assess across multiple criteria: drink quality, atmosphere, hospitality, and overall contribution to the category. A bar does not accumulate three consecutive years of placement across three separate ranking bodies without a program that holds up under repeated professional scrutiny. The jump from #68 globally in 2023 to #24 in 2024 is particularly striking , a 44-position climb in a single year is not explained by marketing or buzz; it requires material improvement or sustained excellence finally reaching critical mass within the voting academy.

The 2025 recalibration to #75 globally with a simultaneous #15 North American placement is consistent with how regional voting strength operates within the 50 Best system. A bar with concentrated North American support among the voting academy can place high regionally while the global number reflects a different distribution of votes. Neither figure is a decline in real terms; the regional number is arguably more useful for a guest planning a trip.

Planning Your Visit

Martiny's is located at 121 East 17th Street, New York, NY 10003, in the Union Square neighborhood. Phone and website details are not confirmed in our database , check current listings before visiting. For a broader orientation to what New York's drinking and dining scene offers at this level, see our full New York City restaurants guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do regulars order at Martiny's?

The bar's sustained position across the World's 50 Best Bars rankings , #24 globally in 2024, #15 in North America in 2025 , signals a program where the drinks themselves, rather than novelty or theme, drive repeat visits. The wine list appears central to that pattern: guests who return to award-recognized bars in this part of Manhattan are typically moving between cocktails and wine across a single sitting rather than ordering exclusively in one category. Specific menu details are not confirmed in our current database.

Why do people go to Martiny's?

The combination of location, award consistency, and format sets Martiny's apart from most Manhattan bar options at a comparable price tier. Union Square is one of the most accessible neighborhoods in the city , four subway lines converge at the square, making the East 17th Street address easy to reach from nearly any other part of Manhattan or Brooklyn. The three-year 50 Best Bars presence and the independent Pearl Recommended designation give guests a credentialed reason to prioritize it over the many unremarkable bars in the immediate area. For those tracking the North American bar scene seriously, a #15 continental ranking in 2025 makes it a reference point rather than a secondary option.